Let It Go
by bluesiber21
Summary: Anna and Elsa always had an interesting relationship, but how could two sisters possibly develop "romantic" feelings for each other when they barely know one another? Rating will go up for later chapters. Focuses more on Elsa. Elsanna. DL;DR. Reviews help! Chapter 3 is up.
1. Introduction

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Frozen belongs to Disney. I also apologize if this starts out a bit slow, but I'm gonna try to get it going. Just hear me out here; I just started writing again =]

This chapter is more of a backstory, just FYI =]

* * *

Elsa remembers every detail of her life.

When Anna knew about her powers as a young girl, her and Elsa were extremely close and had a somewhat normal childhood; considering Elsa's supernatural gift. After the accident, it was extremely hard for Elsa to be locked away for everyone's safety. Her father always told her to "Conceal, don't feel, don't let it show." When Elsa was young, she didn't want to hurt anyone she loved and have the same guilt as she did after the incident with Anna in the ballroom. Hearing Anna call out to her from beyond the bedroom was so emotionally painful for Elsa.

"Elsa?" young Anna asked as she knocked, "Do you wanna build a snowmaaan?"

Before Elsa could protest, Anna continued.

"Come on let's go and play! I never see you anymore, come out the door; it's like you've gone away!"

Elsa considered this for a brief moment while listening to her sister's plea. She knew that Anna had no memory of the horrible event; that she was almost killed by her own sister.

"We used to be best buddies, and now we're not. I wish you'd just tell me why."

Elsa had a flashback to the incident and her eyes welled up at the terrible memory.

"Do you wanna build a snowman?" Anna continued cheerily, "It doesn't have to be a snowman!"

Elsa's frustration and sadness caught up with her. "Go away, Anna!" she snapped.

With utter and complete sadness, Anna walked away from Elsa's door. "Okay, bye…" she managed to murmur.

Elsa remembered a few other events where Anna would interrupt Elsa's reading or daydreaming by trying to get her to come out of her room. And every time, Elsa would try to ignore it, but Anna's pleading voice had taken it's emotional toll on Elsa.

As the years went on, Anna gradually stopped trying, which upset Elsa. For someone who lived in solitude, she often felt forgotten and like she was a monster, thanks in part to her parents shutting her out. As she got older, Elsa realized that her parents were abusive.

"What kind of parents just lock their own daughter away; without trying to find anyone that could possibly help me?"

To avoid these awful thoughts, Elsa buried herself in books and got swept away in her own world. When she did occasionally leave her room, she'd keep her eyes on the ground and not make eye contact with anyone for fear of hurting them.

But she couldn't avoid everything. Puberty was absolutely awful; she had an idea why she was changing the way that she was, due in part to her reading, but she didn't have anyone to talk to.

A few years later, her parents had to go overseas to work some kind of trade deal with a neighboring country. Elsa didn't know the details, she just didn't want her parents to leave because they were her only support system. Even though they clearly didn't know how to deal with her, Elsa knew that her parents loved her. She just wished that she could show them how much she cared.

"Do you really have to go?" Elsa asked as she did a slight curtsy to show them respect, as she learned from a few etiquette books and a brave staff member that her parents had eventually assigned to her to teach her manners of royal intricacy.

"You'll be fine, Elsa." her father replied with a reassuring smile.

Elsa remembered her parents boarding the ship, hoping that they would return soon.

They never made it back.

One day, Elsa had her nose in a book when she heard Anna knock on her door and she was definitely in tears. Elsa's eyes darted across the room to the door at the sound. She quietly put the book down and started walking lightly towards the door. Her cold fingertips grazing the wall as per pace slowed to a halt. Snow flurries began to appear from the ceiling and began to swirl around the room.

Elsa couldn't understand what was being said through Anna's sobs, but Elsa had stopped right at the door. She figured out what Anna was trying to tell her as her cries got harder as her words became unintelligible.

It had seemed like all time had stopped. Though she had worked on controlling her powers, it did little to no good; she simply could not keep up with the strength at which they were growing. The little flurries of snow had stopped falling and were floating in midair. The temperature of the room had dropped significantly, causing some of Elsa's belongings to freeze.

Elsa's knees had given out and she had collapsed on the floor. She caught balance with her hands; which froze the floor at contact. Elsa quickly moved her hands to the top of her legs to keep anything else from freezing. She then leaned up against the door, which was the only thing separating her and Anna; who was weeping uncontrollably on the other side.

Their parents were dead and the funeral was tomorrow. And even though Elsa had nothing to do with their death, she had an overwhelming feeling of guilt. Anna was the only person she had left in the world and Elsa was the only one Anna had left in the world.

She was swimming in emotions as tears welled up in her eyes. Elsa had tried to keep it in, but she couldn't. Tears were flowing steadily down her face. She moved one of her hands to wipe away her tears and pulled her legs into her chest. As both of her feet were flat on the ground, ice began to spread on the floor and on everything that touched the floor, but Elsa didn't care. The temperature of the room was definitely below freezing now, with the small flurries now turning into huge snowflakes that lay suspended in mid-air.

Yet, for Anna's safety, Elsa kept the door closed and did not console her sister. There was nothing more painful in the world for Elsa at this world and she could only imagine how Anna had felt.

"She must think I'm so heartless and uncaring." Elsa thought to herself.

In just a few minutes, everything was frozen solid in Elsa's room. Anna had eventually cried herself to sleep outside of Elsa's door, but neither of them moved from the spot they had been in for hours.

The next day, Anna had eventually gotten up, trying to plead with her sister to come to the funeral, but Elsa just sat in the same spot she had been in, unresponsive.

After the funeral, Anna had hesitated knocking on Elsa's door, but did anyway. "Elsa? Please, I know you're in there… people are asking where you've been…"

Elsa picked her head up out of her knees, which were in the same position from the day before, after some adjusting for sleeping.

"They say have courage, and I'm trying to; I'm right out here for you; just let me in…"

The tears were streaming down Elsa's face because she wanted nothing more but to let her in, but Elsa didn't trust herself. She was too dangerous to be around other people; especially with her room still frozen as it was the day before.

"We only have each other, it's just you and me. What are we gonna do?"

Elsa could hear Anna sigh through tears and there was a slight pause as if she were trying to think of what to say.

"Do you wanna build a snowman?" Anna trailed off.

Elsa couldn't handle it. The internal battle was too much. Here the two sisters were again, back to back; a piece of wood seperating them. But they had each never felt so alone.


	2. Memories

Still a bit slow here, but it will definitely pick up now. I hope you guys are enjoying this! Reviews let me know that I'm doing something right =]

Disclaimer: I still don't own Frozen or any of it's characters.

* * *

In all her time of solitude, Elsa had become very familiar with a wide variety of knowledge. There weren't many things she didn't know much about… except… relationships.

She had always cherished the, albeit, distant one from her sister. Anna had always made her feel less alone, even though Elsa never responded to Anna's conversation. Elsa could only wonder to herself how her lack of responses effected Anna over the years.

There was something different in the air; given all the events that had just happened. She couldn't quite put her finger on it. Always the one to understand every detail of any given situation, Elsa paced her peaceful room with a her arms folded gently across her stomach with her head slightly tucked in her neck, staring at the ground in front of her delicate feet, with her see-through blue-tinted cape shadowing her movements. She had always loved wearing the dress she had made in her ice castle because it reminded her that she didn't have to hold anything back anymore. She glanced up slowly and wandered over to a chair that had once belonged to her mother and sat down quietly to reminisce about what had just happened only a few days ago.

Her powers being exposed to the whole kingdom was her absolute worst nightmare. Her parents treated her like her ability was something to be scared of; never something to embrace. Even worse than that, she had almost killed her sister… again.

During her plight towards the north mountain, Elsa remembered how she felt in that moment. She was truly free of any contact. At that point in time, she didn't have to worry about hurting anyone with her powers. She could finally soak in the freezing, fresh, wintry breeze that carried over the mountains. Free to do anything she wanted without any reserve, she thought that's exactly what she needed. She had let _everything_ go.

Then Anna shows up; which warms Elsa's heart to know that her sister still cares about her, but reminds her of the awful truth that they could never be together as sisters. She loved Anna more than anyone else in the world, but for fear of hurting her, she pushed her away for protection. Why couldn't Anna understand that?

Elsa stood up and began pacing the floor again. She was over-analyzing the situation; replaying the events like a broken record, trying to pull any single detail that had been missed. She then stopped pacing only to remember the worst memory of the past few days. Her fingertips swelled with ice at the recollection.

"Your sister is dead because of you."

Though her sister was alive and well now, those words will always be in the back of Elsa's mind, reminding her that she really is dangerous. The feeling of losing it all because of her lack of control was devastating to her. As she fell to her hands and knees, it felt like all time had stopped. All Elsa could focus on was how she killed her sister. In a muffled sound, Elsa remembered the sound of Hans drawing his sword. But she didn't care. In that moment, she was ready to die.

"No!" a familiar voice had screamed.

Elsa didn't know what was worse, the fact that she thought she had killed her sister ten minutes ago, or the fact that she was alive, but she sacrificed herself to save her sister, who had been all but deserving of such an act of valiancy, courage, and… love.

She had cupped Anna's frozen face in her chilled hands, in complete disbelief of her actions.

As Elsa had thrown herself on Anna's ice-statue body, the first time she had ever touched another human body, she had never felt such a chill throughout her body. Sobbing harder than she ever did in her life, Elsa closed her eyes; never knowing someone could love her as much as Anna did. The cold never bothered her, but there was something about that moment that had caused her skin to freeze. She had always imagined hugging Anna, but not like this. No; never like this. With her arms draped awkwardly around Anna, she hung her head in shame and complete sadness

It seems like it all happened in a flash. Elsa had felt a gradual warming sensation against her body that no words could explain. At the time, she didn't think anything of it. When she lifted her head, she realized Anna was unfrozen, and looking quite dizzy. Elsa didn't think twice about her actions, but she kept her from falling over and held Anna in a tight embrace. Her first real contact with a warm body since she could remember. There was never a moment she would forget in those few seconds as she buried her face into Anna's shoulder. At the realization of what she had done, Elsa pushed her sister away gently and asked,

"You sacrificed yourself for me?" as she pushed a strand of Anna's hair behind her ear, then brought both of her hands together and held Anna's hands tightly in hers. After a slight pause, Anna squeezed Elsa's hands, looked directly in her eyes and said in the most sincere tone,

_"I love you."_

Those words will stay with Elsa forever. That was the first time in her memory that someone said that with the upmost of sincerity.

"An act of true love will thaw a frozen heart." Olaf had gasped excitedly.

Elsa wasn't sure if the act of true love was Anna sacrificing herself for Elsa or Elsa giving her Anna a hug to show how much she really cared about her sister. She still questions herself to this day.

After all the unfreezing took place after that, Elsa recalls that Anna gently placed her hand on Elsa's shoulder, without fear, and said "I knew you could do it." That was the first time in her life, since knowing she had powers, that Elsa had allowed someone else to touch her. Anna's touch had brought a new sensation of warm skin on Elsa's cold shoulder. Anna, realizing this new-found comfort, pulled herself closer to her sister, pulled both hands further down her left arm, and held on to her sister; as if she were never going to let go.

They had made eye contact a few times, with nothing but pure love in their eyes, a kind of love any two sisters would share.

After Anna let go of Elsa's arm, Elsa recalled feeling a loss of heat in her arm. A feeling that she had grown accustomed to, even if it was only for a few minutes. Anna had dealt with Hans in the most appropriate way, in Elsa's rational thinking. But, she was the queen and wouldn't condone such behavior in the public eye.

Elsa had stopped pacing and gazed in a mirror that had been hanging in her room since she was young. In the mirror, she saw the detail she had been looking for. There was a moment after Anna had taken care of Hans where Elsa was so happy to have her sister back. Seemingly in slow motion, Anna had turned slightly towards Elsa. Elsa removed both of her arms from the sides of her body, hands in tight little fists and gradually released them as she brought her arms up, signaling to Anna that she wanted to genuinely hug her without any fear that she would harm her. Anna, hesitant at first, picked up on what her sister was signaling and turned her feet towards Elsa. Anna's face lit up as bright as day as she raised her arms up and threw herself into her sister, bringing them into a tight embrace, to envy that of any hug that had ever happened to either of them before. Their arms had wrapped themselves around each other's backs; two sisters bonding together as a single soul that had been separated long ago. Though she couldn't see Anna's face, Elsa felt her warm smile against her cool shoulder.

The memory had made Elsa smile as wide as she did when it happened. That hug had meant something to both of them, but Elsa realized that it meant more to her than it probably did to Anna. Elsa liked it. Elsa's smile suddenly disappeared.

Elsa's gaze immediately left the mirror as she thought to herself, _"Elsa, that is ridiculous. She is your sister and you were having a much-needed bonding moment after so many years of each of us being in isolation and torn away from your own sister."_ She grazed over to the window to see the sun setting over the fjord in a beautiful array of colors, ranging from the color of a beautiful robin to her sister's gorgeous, flowing ha-

As much as she tried to convince herself that it didn't mean anything to her more than a "bonding moment", she refused to let herself believe anything else.

Her skin was so warm and the feeling of having her warm body pressed so tightly against mine felt...different. A good different. She couldn't possibly-

"Elsa!" Anna's voice rang from the hallway, on the other side of a closed door, disrupting the Queen's thoughts.

"Yes, Anna?" Elsa replied, trying to keep the irritation of having her thoughts interrupted out of her tone.

"Come out of your room, I have to show you something!" Anna sang excitedly.

Anna always had a voice that matched her beautiful self.

_Stop it, Elsa. The queen had scolded herself._

"Okay, I'll be right there!" Elsa had managed to reply.

"Come down to my room!" Anna had called from a distance. It sounded like she had already escaped down the hallway, wanting Elsa to meet her.

Elsa sighed to herself as she walked towards the door, her body swaying slightly from the slight uncomfort from standing and pacing for so long. She straightened her back and kept her composure, let her hands relax at her sides, as she opened the door and casually walked toward Anna's room.

* * *

I'll keep up with the story as I can, I've got school and work to worry about as well! I'll usually update the description, alerting of a new chapter =]


	3. Cuddling

Thanks for the reviews! I hope you guys are liking where this is going! Next chapter will have some fluff =]

* * *

There was a certain crisp, cool feeling about the air in the castle as the sun was setting. Elsa walked down the hallway majestically, with both of her hands intertwined in the other, resting in front of her lower stomach. Her head moved slowly from side to side as her eyes scanned the familiar hallway, looking for anything out of the ordinary. Everything was as it should be; in pristine condition.

As she neared Anna's quarters, she stopped in front of the open door. The room that she and Anna had once shared when they were young had been Anna's for years now. It seemed odd to Elsa to be present in the same room again. There she stood at the threshold, her eyes scanning the bright room for her sister, whom she had spotted at the end of the room at the window… and it looked like Anna held something in her hands and was fiddling with it, but Elsa couldn't tell what it was. Anna wasn't aware of Elsa's presence, as she was in her own little world. Not knowing exactly how to present herself in a non-awkward fashion, Elsa simply cleared her throat and quietly asked, "You wanted to see me?", her hands hanging loosely at her sides now, as one hand rose up and rest itself on the open door.

"Yes!" Anna had jumped at the sudden break of silence and suddenly holding whatever she was fidgeting with behind her back. But she paused, staring at Elsa; puzzled.

"I really don't have to invite you in, do I?" she asked with her eyebrow slightly raised with a half-smile gradually appearing on her face as she placed one hand on her hip, the other hand still holding the object.

Elsa simply smiled in response and advanced forward into the room. She didn't want to intrude on her sister's space without permission, but apparently, Anna didn't care. Elsa was still learning of what being a sister really meant, instead of just being a mysterious figure that was rarely seen or a majestic political figure in the eyes of the rest of the kingdom. But, she felt a certain level of comfort when she was with Anna, like she really could let it all go. Anna never hesitated to tell Elsa that she loved her, which really assured Elsa in the long run and made her feel more connected to her sister.

As she approached Anna, Elsa couldn't help the smile that was growing on her face. Anna was so cute when she had a surprise for someone.

"So, what is it that you have to show me?" Elsa asked, looking directly in her sister's crystal blue eyes. As she stopped a few feet from Anna, Anna pulled her sister closer to her.

"You have to close your eyes first!" she said brightly. Elsa obliged.

"No peeking!" Anna said as she slowly took Elsa's hands in hers. Elsa felt Anna place something in her hands. Something kind of heavy.

"I'm not!" Elsa chuckled.

After a few giggles, Anna couldn't handle her excitement any more. "Open 'em!"

Elsa opened her eyes and looked down at what her sister had placed in her hands.

"Oh, Anna!" Elsa said in awe. "It's beautiful!"

Anna had painted the sunset of Arendelle that Elsa had just been admiring but ten minutes ago. It's like Anna knew what she was looking at.

"I know you like watching the sunset, so I figured that I'd paint you something so that you'd see it any time you want! Well, now that I said that out loud, it kinda sounds lame…"

"No, Anna; I absolutely love it!" Elsa exclaimed after taking her hand off of the painting to give Anna a hug when she realized her fingers were wet. Looking down, she realized that the wetness she felt was from the paint.

"Whoops! Guess I shoulda let the paint dry…" Anna admitted apologetically.

"That's quite alright, Anna. I still love it." Elsa said after noticing a small portion of her handprint on the edge of the painting. Upon closer inspection, Elsa noticed something.

"Look, Anna…" Elsa said quizzically. She held her hand up to Anna's bright reddish-orange hair. "It matches... your hair." Elsa trailed off. She remembered what she had thought to herself back in her room; comparing the color of the sunset to Anna's hair.

"Oh look, it does!" Anna exclaimed. "Too bad it's not as beautiful as your hair."

"Oh stop it, Anna. You're beautifull-er." Elsa smirked.

"Did you just call me fat?" Anna retorted back with an eyebrow raised, realizing Elsa had used her own words against her.

"Well, you do like chocolate…" Elsa thought quickly. Her face was beginning to hurt from smiling so much.

"Well, okay, you got me there." Anna admitted.

Both of the sisters shared a hearty laugh and then silence dawned on them for a few seconds.

Elsa looked down at the painting in her hand again, and now that the paint had dried a little bit more, she repositioned it carefully and held it in both hands. Anna had really put a lot of detail in it. Elsa looked up at Anna again and smiled. "I'm going to go put this in my room; it will be a nice change from all the blue. Thank you so much for this wonderful gift; it's the most thoughtful thing anyone has ever done for me. What do you say that after I put this up, we just sit down and… just talk? You know, like we used to."

Anna's eyes lit up at the idea, thinking about the last time that she and Elsa had spent quality time alone together. "Ohmygosh yes! As long as there will be chocolate. I have so much to tell you!"

"I'll be right back." Elsa said through a genuine smile.

Elsa turned to walk down the hallway when she realized how happy she was. While quickening her pace, she thought that just talking to her sister like they had been together their whole lives was the first step in having a normal relationship.

She entered her room and gently placed the painting next to her own bed, then walked back to Anna's room, waltzed in without permission and shut the door.

Anna had been sitting on her bed waiting for Elsa to return, clearly excited about the two of them finally getting to spend some quality time together. Elsa made herself right at home and walked excitedly over to Anna's bed and sat right next to her. Noticing her energy, Anna's eyes sparkled with amazement; of how quickly Elsa had adjusted to being with her behind closed doors. She had completely forgotten that she was considered a queen. In that moment, Anna and Elsa were just two normal sisters.

They spent the entire night talking about everything from Kristoff to that time that Anna had ridden the two-seater bike down the stairs and ruined a decorative set of armor. They talked about how Elsa really spent all that time in her room. The conversation quickly turned melancholy.

"I'm so sorry I always shut you out. I loved it when you'd stop and talk to me outside my door. It reminded me that someone still cared about me…" Elsa said in a serious, but sad tone. Her eyes found Anna's to ensure that Anna felt the sincerity of her words.

"You're my sister. Even if I saw you every day, I would have done the same thing. I just missed having someone to grow up with… what made it even worse is that we were so close when we were younger…" Anna trailed off.

"But then I almost killed you." Elsa said softly, clasping both of her hands together on her lap.

Both women sat in silence. Tears started forming in Elsa's eyes.

"I have never forgiven myself for that moment… or the moment where you sacrificed yourself for me." She paused, closing her eyes; making tears stream down her cheeks. "And no matter how hard I tried to distance myself from you, you kept coming back to me." She opened up her wet eyes only to see Anna scooting closer to Elsa and putting her hand on her shoulder. Anna was now completely facing Elsa, and motioning for Elsa to completely face her. Anna moved her hand slowly up to Elsa's chin and wiped a few tears off with her thumb.

"I did it because I love you. And I can't tell you that enough, Elsa." She said, trying to hold the tears back.

"But I'll never stop feeling guilty for how I treated you." Elsa said, pulling her legs up and resting them on the bed, mirroring Anna's position.

"You're here now. And that's all that matters to me." Anna said with a smile as a tear rolled down her freckled cheek. Her icy blue eyes never missing a blink with her sister's.

Elsa said nothing in response, instead, relaxed her hands from her lap and pulled Anna into a tight embrace. Anna's body heat was a new sensation to Elsa; much like the feeling of a hot shower on a cold day. "I love you, Anna. I always have, and I always will."

Anna didn't feel like that sentence needed a response. She tightened her arms and dug her cheek in Elsa's shoulder.

The two stayed in the embrace for what seemed like hours, but neither of them minded. It was Elsa who broke the hug; with a stretch and a yawn. Her eyes red from the tears that had fallen earlier.

"I should be getting to bed," Elsa said as she was removing herself out of the comfortable position on Anna's bed. "I have a lot to do tomorrow; but I'll see you at breakfast."

She rose and began to walk awkwardly, as her left leg was asleep. Her leg regained feeling after a few seconds and she turned around. "Goodnight, Anna."

As Elsa headed for the door, she was stopped by Anna's voice "Elsa, wait!"

She turned around and her cape made a slow swirling motion.

"Why don't you stay with me?" Anna asked.

This question caught Elsa off-guard. She briefly considered it when she realized that she would love to. There was a certain mystery that Elsa had. She had never slept next to anyone before, for fear of hurting them.

"Are you sure?" Elsa asked worriedly.

"Well, yeah. I mean, why not?"

They were sisters; normal sisters would share a bed, right?

Elsa debated with herself and decided to join her sister. She smiled as she walked back over to Anna's bed and took off her cape.

Anna smiled tiredly and said "I have to warn you, I like to cuddle." as she pointed to mountain of pillows in the corner of the room.

Elsa sat down on the bed and proceeded to lay down and extend her legs underneath the blankets, facing Anna's back, with her legs slightly bent and her arms held close to her chest. The sheets were amazingly soft and carried an aroma of fresh linen.

Anna turned over and faced her sister.

"We should do this more often." She said quietly as she traced her sister's face with her warm touch and ran her hand through Elsa's soft hair.

Elsa initially flinched at her touch, but now she longed for it.

Elsa nodded her head in agreement, too tired to speak.

Anna was satisfied with this response and turned where her back was facing Elsa. She then took her older sister by surprise by backing her body up to where it was right up against Elsa's. Elsa tensed up immediately. The heat Anna's body gave off against Elsa's skin was incredible. Elsa was glad it was dark so Anna couldn't see the effect it was having on her.

Anna fell asleep quickly, which explained why she found comfort immediately sleeping next to Elsa.

After the initial shock, Elsa's cold body relaxed to her sister's warmth underneath the blankets and snuggled closer to her. In an uncomfortable arm position, Elsa repositioned her arms to have one draped over Anna and the other one extended underneath the crook of her younger sister's neck. Elsa buried her face in Anna's neck, drinking in her body heat like a drug. Her lips lightly grazed the skin of the princess' neck and it set Elsa's lips on fire. She readjusted herself, finding a comfortable position for her head behind Anna's shoulder.

Elsa used her arms to pull her sister closer to her and Anna reciprocated by pushing herself into the cold sensation that was Elsa's body.

And with that, they were both asleep. For the first time in forever, they had fallen asleep with smiles on their faces.

* * *

If you liked it, throw me a review!


End file.
